Friday, November 30, 2012

The Only Road

Nicholas Roerich - Padma Sambhava (1927)

Honesty is the only road that leads to truth. All the other roads merge into honesty before arriving at truth. If you search for truth without journeying through honesty, you will lose yourself in the palace of mirrors. But if you journey deeper into honesty, you will inexorably arrive at the truth of all things. Furthermore, you will only have to concern yourself with how to live in radical honesty toward yourself, because, as Shakespeare promised, if you do so, you cannot be false to anyone else.

And what about beauty? Beauty is not a separate road to the truth. "Truth is beauty," as John Keats promised, "and beauty is truth." Neither the truth of beauty nor the beauty of truth can be arrived at in any sustainable way without first becoming established in a relationship of radical honesty with yourself.

All else just leads deeper into the palace of mirrors. If you drink a reflection of water, you will still be thirsty. If you embrace a reflection of someone else, you will still be alone. Nor does the path of relentless honesty with ourselves lead us into asceticism or isolation; it leads us instead into utter connectedness and an ever-expanding capacity for happiness.

This blog now focuses on exploring new language for the truths of the ancient future, and reflects insights into Vajrayana Buddha Dharma, Kashmir Shiva-Sakti philosophy, Hatha and Tantra Yoga, the Shamanic path, and other aspects of the world's collective mystical heritage. It also offers commentary on art, music, literature, human rights, sustainability, independent journalism, economic justice and the Climate Crisis.

For much of his life, Power worked in the fields of security and intelligence. He delivered briefings and led training in forty countries, and was an adviser to governments and corporations. His views have been featured in interviews on CNN, PBS, NPR and the BBC, and quoted in mainstream news media, including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters and Associated Press.